Boy, 6, hit by car is in fair condition

EL CAJON – A 6-year-old boy critically injured when he darted in front of a car Thursday was in fair condition yesterday at Children's Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

Eric Lopez, a first-grader at Johnson Avenue Elementary School in El Cajon, was walking home from school when he tried to run across Magnolia Avenue beneath the Interstate 8 overpass about 2:15 p.m, the California Highway Patrol said.

Lopez was hit by a Lincoln Town Car driven by a Ramona resident, CHP spokesman Brian Pennings said.

The boy suffered an open head wound, bruised spleen and a lacerated kidney, Pennings said.

School officials said the youngster normally rode a school bus home, but he did not board the bus Thursday. It is unclear why he decided to walk home.

Charles Roach, principal at Johnson Avenue School, described Lopez as "a very nice young man, whose parents are very involved with the school."

Sheriff to collect Imperial dunes fees

The Bureau of Land Management and the Imperial County Sheriff's Office have signed a five-year agreement about collecting fees for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, the Bureau of Land Management said.

The Sheriff's Recreation Permit Enforcement Division will collect fees and enforce compliance, the bureau said. The county will retain 30 percent of the revenues.

The agreement helps to utilize resources better and support enforcement and recreation, the bureau said in a news release.

The sheriff's group will begin compliance patrols within the area requiring permits the first weekend in October.

Fees remain the same as last year: Annual permits cost $90 and weekly permits cost $25.